25 hours of travel and we finally arrived in Quito with time to spare. If you hate conveniency then you will love this next part. There are two roads that lead to Ecuador from Bogota, Colombia. The more direct route is full of guerrilla activity though. I don't mean the King Kong type either. I mean the drug cartel, machine gun carrying kind. Needless to say, we opted for the long route. On our way out of Colombia there would be stretches of highway with military personnel wandering the side. Everyone we passed gave us a thumbs-up. I have no idea what that meant but I'm sure a man with an automatic rifle giving you a thumbs down doesn't end well. We had no trouble crossing the border and got approved for a VISA through March 17th.
So far Ecuador differs from Colombia in a few ways. Our bus was stopped two or three times and "policia" boarded. The first time they ordered all the men off the bus and I guess searched it for something. The second time they boarded they asked me to show them my passport. They just don't like dudes in this country I guess. Ecuador uses US currency, which makes it easy to tell how cheap something really is. Tonight we are going for pizza and a soda for $1.75. It costs a quarter to ride the trolley. People here are also very nice and quick to help out, like in Colombia. Ecuador does seem to have a lot more poverty than we saw in Colombia. It makes you think about our "problems" back home and how minuscule they really are.
A side note: I haven't been able to work this into my blog yet but they are two semi-important points I want to add. Most of the water from the tap is undrinkable. You don't realize how much you take that for granted until it's unavailable. I caved and use tap water when brushing my teeth but I do not ingest it in large amounts. Time will tell if this is a good idea. The other thing is that the plumbing in South America is about as impressive as me in the weight room. When doing your business, you are supposed to dispose of toilet paper in the trash rather than the toilet bowl. I am a creature of habit however and made the mistake of flushing toilet paper. The end result was not good.
Quito itself is a wonderful city. It is the second highest capital city in the world (9,200 feet). It is divided into three parts. New Town is to the north. Most bars and hostels are here in a district called "El Mariscal" which is supposed to be very dangerous after 9pm. We chose to avoid that all together and stay in Old Town. A wise choice on our part, as Old Town is amazing. It has a very European feel to it (cobble stone streets, similar architecture, and a massive church in the center). Our hostel is massive and has a 5th floor terrace that overlooks the city.
Tomorrow we are back on the road, to Riobamba this time. I have no idea what that city is like but at least it is fun to say. From there we will head to a farm just east of Puyo. The farm is run by a Shaman and his family. It will no doubt be an interesting experience. I don't think we will have internet access so on weekends we may have to go into town and find an internet cafe. I hope this time apart from technology won't discourage you from following the blog. I promise to update as much as possible. Also, don't forget to check the girls blog at http://www.volar2012.blogspot.com/. I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday season!
No comments:
Post a Comment